FREEDOMBULLS

 
A man named David Leavitt had a dream.

 Mr. Leavitt wanted to recreate the ancient Bullbaiter. He wanted the health and vitality of that bulldog without the extreme viciousness the old bulldog was known for.
Mr. Leavitt said:
"I do not want the temperament of the original Bulldog. My dogs must be very loving. They must have courage and determination without being overly aggressive."
And again:
"I wanted breeds with old Bulldog in their genotype, when I chose my foundation stock. This was just my personal preference. Next I was guided by reproducing the phenotype of the working Bulldog. "Like produces like" was my method of molding a dog that matched the period artwork. I searched long and hard for hidden remnants of old blood, ie. Spanish Bulldog, Majorcan, rumors of Bulldogs in Nova Scotia and the American south, but none of these panned out. I considered the Boxer and Dogue d’ Bordeaux, but didn’t use them due to health concerns. I chose 50% English Bulldog and 16.66% Pit Bull, Bull Mastiff and American Bulldog. I used a Dr. Fechimer’s cattle line breeding scheme and started multiple ones so I could outcross when necessary. The dog was shaped by picking examples to breed, that most closely matched the "old dog" and I eliminated lines that displayed demodex and epilepsy, even once."
You can find alot more info on David Leavitt and the Leavitt Bulldog on the official Leavitt Bulldog Association site. Go to it for more info Leavitt Bulldog Association
Leavitt Bulldog.ORG is dedicated to showing the past and the present of the Leavitt Bulldog so we can breed better Leavitt bulldogs in the future.
Through personal communication with David Leavitt he has told me his dream was to produce dogs like BullMead's Tweed but who are agile on their feet and intelligent.   

                       
Below you will find a couple of pictures from the past that inspired David Leavitt's creation.
 
As you can see these dogs are lean and fit their very build would get rid of many of the health issues that concern the nature of what we have come to call the Bulldog. Due to personal reasons in his life David took a leave of absence from the breed. After all family is more important then our wonderfull dogs. When he came back to the breed in 2005 he found that people had begun to try to change his breed into a bullier more English Bulldog look. He knew this was not good for the breed and formed the Leavitt Bulldog Association to further his dream. When he did this he changed the name from Olde English Bulldogge to Leavitt Bulldog and was attacked viciously for his decision by some members at the O.E.B.K.C. You can read below the statement David issued concerning this issue.
"The LBA is committed to producing dogs who match the looks of the working Bull Baiter. Nothing has changed. This was my original vision of what the dogs should look like and continues to this day. Our logo is by Landseer, who was the preeminent animal painter of the 1800’s. I want a dog between the Landseer and print #3 on our History page. This is the same thing I told visitors in the 1970’s.
I was lucky enough to collect the art, collect the old books, do the research, assemble examples of the foundation breeds, design and build a great 10 run kennel and 4 dog electric hot walker, become a fair trainer, and good midwife and breeder. I did my best then and am doing it now.
The Olde English Bulldogge name served its purpose when I started. I needed a name that clearly differentiated us from English Bulldogs. Please be aware that Bulldogge comes from 1631 but I set out to recreate the dog of 1820, when it was spelled Bulldog. I’m flattered that people love the OEB name I came up with, but it is attached to a dog from a much later period.
A big reason for my wanting to change the Breed name is that there are far more Alternative Bulldog OEB’s than true ones, and most of these dogs don’t have the appearance of the old working Bulldog. I admit it’s my pride that has driven me to want to make clear these heavy dogs aren’t my creation. I couldn’t force them to change and the logical answer was to change a name that really wasn’t correct for the period we are trying to recreate anyway. Hopefully you understand this, even if you don’t agree.
The LB and OEB are clearly the same good dog. I hope this high quality will continue. The LBA is using a different Breed name, but are not creating a different breed. It is those who would not allow our dogs to be dual registered as OEB’s, and bred to OEB’s, who are creating two breeds out of one. It would be in the best interest of genetic diversity to allow dual registry. Dual registry is in the best interest of the dogs. Even the AKC and UKC work together on the Am. Staff./APBT. The LBA will live with whatever happens. We are happy with our little group and aren’t fighting for converts. The LBA will continue on in a positive way, to encourage the breeding of happy, healthy, correct dogs."